Chapter 17
Zong Mo’s head was dizzy and heavy, a chaotic mess. He was so hot his mouth was dry. He kicked off the quilt, but not long after, he felt cold again.
His body seemed to be out of his control. He could only move his fingers slightly, but it was useless.
He could still barely open his eyes a little. The bedside was empty. This feeling of being sick and helpless made him briefly forget that he had been in the world of the book for over a month.
His throat burned with pain. A normal person might subconsciously cry out for “water.”
There was no one to pour him water, so Zong Mo naturally wouldn’t waste his energy.
He stared blankly at the white bedsheet for a while, and in a daze, realized the size of the bed was a bit off.
Even with him occupying half of it, there was still so much spacious room left. He had never slept in such a big bed in the orphanage or in his rented apartment.
The bedsheet was dazzlingly white, the texture particularly smooth, not the feel of the cotton bedding he was used to at home.
And he was only wearing a bathrobe. With the quilt off, most of his legs were exposed to the air. No wonder he was cold.
Right, he was in a hotel.
Zong Mo’s memory returned. He didn’t see anyone in his line of sight, but he still tried to call out, “I’m so cold…”
Ruan Chi walked over, his face grim. “Then why did you kick off the quilt?”
“It was hot just now,” Zong Mo said hoarsely. “I want to drink water…”
Ruan Chi: …
Zong Mo thought to himself, CEO Ruan should still be temporarily satisfied with him as a toy. Not only did he cover him with the quilt, but he also helped him sit up against the headboard.
Ruan Chi gave him a glass of water and then handed him two pills. “Take them.”
Zong Mo, with his physical strength offline, couldn’t resist at all. He could only obediently swallow the white pills of unknown origin.
Could CEO Ruan have given him some kind of medicine to forcibly restore his energy, so he could try that thing at forty degrees?
Zong Mo: …
Before long, the medicine took effect. His eyelids felt as heavy as lead, dragging him into a dream with an irresistible force.
You really can’t just casually take medicine given by CEO Ruan!
As a busy manager, being able to sleep until seven in the morning was already quite good.
An Lan had no complaints and respectfully answered her boss’s call.
She was truly speechless.
She never expected CEO Ruan to be that kind of person. After doing that thing inside, you don’t even clean the person up?
When someone gets a fever, they feel terrible. His own sex life for the next few days would also be affected.
What was the point?
Ruan Chi: ?
Zong Mo’s important scenes had mostly been filmed. The scenes with Lu Bo, which couldn’t be delayed the most, were even done in one take.
Director Yang’s attitude towards Zong Mo was quite good now. When he learned that he was absent from work due to illness, he had no complaints and even asked with concern:
“Zong Mo has a fever? Where is he now? Has he been sent to the hospital?”
An Lan: “…I’m not very sure either.”
Director Yang: ?
“Um, Director Yang, he went back to City A last night. He was supposed to come back today, but he didn’t expect to get a fever.”
Director Yang: …How much trouble is that?
Zong Mo woke up, feeling suffocated by the pressure.
He opened his eyes and saw Ruan Chi with his arms around his neck, his face pressed against his chest, sleeping.
“CEO Ruan…” he began, his voice pained and hoarse.
Ruan Chi propped himself up, looked at him, and touched his face with the back of his hand to test his temperature.
Zong Mo glanced out the window; it was almost dark.
“Why am I still in the hotel?”
“You have a fever.”
Zong Mo explained, “I left in a hurry and caught a chill on the way here.”
It was also because he hadn’t slept in the middle of the night.
Anyway, it wasn’t from being tired out by exercise!
“Should I go back to the set?”
“No need. I got you leave. You’ll go back on the 3rd. If you’re not better, we can postpone it further.”
Zong Mo: …
But could he really rest here with CEO Ruan?
He wasn’t very convinced.
Ruan Chi asked again, “Do you want to eat?”
Zong Mo nodded. “Yes.”
Ruan Chi got up and called room service.
So good. Being in a hotel is so good. No need to cook!
Zong Mo wasn’t so dizzy anymore and also got up. Sleeping through New Year’s Day until dinnertime was quite something. Since it was fitting, he asked, “CEO Ruan, do you want dumplings or sweet rice balls?”
Ruan Chi: “I don’t like either.”
Zong Mo thought to himself: …There should be some sense of holiday ritual, right?
“I’ll order both for you,” Ruan Chi said, making another call.
Being sick was really nice. It let Zong Mo experience the feeling of being a sponsor.
He ate on a small table in bed, and it was even CEO Ruan himself who brought it to him.
But…
The dumplings were dry, plump and ingot-shaped, looking very normal. The sweet rice balls came in a soup, but it was a translucent soy-sauce color, with finely chopped green onions sprinkled on top as a garnish.
This hotel was clearly very high-end. The food should be good too. Zong Mo suspiciously scooped a white spherical object that looked like a sweet rice ball from the soup and put it in his mouth.
Hmm?
“CEO Ruan, why are the sweet rice balls filled with meat?”
“I don’t like sweets,” Ruan Chi said.
Zong Mo: “…Weren’t they ordered for me?”
Ruan Chi: “Don’t I need to eat?”
Zong Mo closed his mouth first and carefully chewed on this strange sweet rice ball he was eating for the first time in his life.
The glutinous rice skin was soft and sticky, the meat filling was fresh and rich, and the soup was clear and sweet.
Just like the cake on Ruan Chi’s birthday, he was won over.
Indeed, there was no unacceptable cuisine, only not enough money.
Around eight or nine o’clock, fireworks started going off outside the window. They were colorful and breathtakingly beautiful.
Being sick, he even got to make up for the fireworks he had missed yesterday.
Zong Mo was momentarily lost in thought. The view from this huge floor-to-ceiling window, thirty or forty floors up, was indeed excellent.
The fireworks exploded at an extremely close distance before his eyes, dazzlingly brilliant. But the soundproofing was also very good, so he wasn’t startled by the sound of the explosions.
The faint crackling sound seemed to come from very far away.
He got out of bed and went to the window to watch, still wearing the bathrobe he had been in for a day and a night.
In the room filled with warm air, he still had to open his collar a little to dissipate the heat. He reached out and touched the window, shivering from the real temperature of the night of January 1st.
Yesterday’s sink plan had ended in failure, but if he were to press him against this windowpane, it would definitely freeze Ruan Chi.
Zong Mo: …
Wait, hold on.
His CEO Ruan had also walked over.
Ruan Chi wrapped his arms around him from behind. He didn’t know why he had to watch fireworks in this position.
He didn’t dare to move. Ruan Chi’s hand reached into his bathrobe, his chin resting on his shoulder, and said, “It’s not burning anymore, but still a little hot.”
Zong Mo looked at the face reflected in the window, which was temporarily dark in the gap between the firework bursts, and wanted to say, you’re a little lewd.
But what actually came out were words of begging, “CEO Ruan, I really don’t have the strength to move…”
Ruan Chi was silent for a moment, then said, “I didn’t ask you to move.”
As long as we’re not exercising, it’s fine. I’ll wait until my body recovers, Zong Mo thought.
But Ruan Chi’s hand continued downwards, and he said again, “So hot.”
Zong Mo: …
In the end, Ruan Chi didn’t ask him to move, but he exhaled a breath by his neck, his tone teasing and contemptuous:
“Tsk, it’s like petting a dog.”
Zong Mo was the dog being petted.
He had a temper, but unfortunately, his body was too honest. No matter how fierce a dog, after being petted into submission, it can only wag its tail.
Ruan Chi’s dog-training skills weren’t that great, but this was the first time in over two months.
A CEO worth billions, condescending to give him a handjob.
He couldn’t say which was more comfortable, psychologically or physically.
Author’s Note:
CEO Ruan: Tsk, I’m happy now.
